Riverina animal rescue group calls for focus on desexing after increased sightings of abandoned kittens in Wagga

Sightings of stray kittens have skyrocketed in recent weeks and while you might think it cute to see one in the park, what’s actually occurring is abandonment.

Take the above photo, snapped today at The Daily Advertiser’s Peter Street office.

One of our journalists stumbled across this stray kitten on a job and brought it in for shelter.

The kitten has since found a home, but its plight is just one example of what Lake Road Veterinary Clinic trainee vet Montanna Taylor believes is a growing problem.

She says “boxes of kittens” have literally been left on the doorstep of her practice.. 

“Entire litters have been brought into work and we’ve been inundated with kittens,” she said.

“We’re trying our best to rehome them all ... but I’ve also heard people are dumping cats all over the place, in parks and by the river.”

Wagga City Council reported in January that the city was “not currently experiencing an influx of cats that would be classified as feral”.

However, increased sightings and overflowing carer homes across Narrandera have prompted a stern warning from the Riverina and District Animal Rescue group.

“We’ve observed an overpopulation of cats in Narrandera and in our view, there just aren’t the facilities to keep and care for abandoned and stray cats,” RADAR president Cheryl McCormick said.

“People are telling us cats have wandered in and had kittens in their gardens as an excuse to leave them with us, but we can’t take them all.

“These kittens and cats have to be hand raised and if you keep taking them on, you’ll suddenly find carer families with eight or nine animals.”

Ms McCormick said that although Narrandera and Wagga councils had different systems of animal management, Wagga residents “must be more careful”.

“It’s simple – desex your cats,” she said.

“We are being overrun and overworked and it’s getting even worse ... so do the right thing and get your animals desexed.”

Ms Taylor agreed, citing a further need to register pets in the Wagga region. 

“Definitely have your cats desexed, especially if they are an outside cat, but also take care to register your animals,” she said.

“I think a lot of people are buying and selling animals online or without registration and it’s hard to keep a track of them all.”